{"id":901949,"date":"2026-09-23T01:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901949\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T01:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:32:14","slug":"dead-penguin-collected-from-bruny-island-amid-continuing-bird-flu-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901949\/","title":{"rendered":"Dead penguin collected from Bruny Island amid continuing bird flu response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bird flu is continuing to spread across Tasmania, with more than 3,500 reports now made to authorities leading to 492 tests and 43 positive bird flu events.<\/p>\n

Among the latest reports is a dead penguin found on Bruny Island on Tuesday, with formal testing now underway.<\/p>\n

The Bruny Island Environment Network said a resident came across the dead penguin on Elona Beach, beside the boat club on South Bruny Island.<\/p>\n

The group urged people should keep their distance from dead animal carcasses, suggesting people place a cardboard box or similar over a carcass after reporting it to stop scavenging, then spray their shoes with vet grade disinfectant.<\/p>\n

\"\"A dead penguin was found on Elona Beach on Bruny Island on Tuesday<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not touch or disturb the carcass.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dead penguin was picked up from the beach by authorised personnel in a hazmat suit, before being placed in a secure bag.<\/p>\n

\"\"Residents are asked to report sick or dead wildlife to the hotline on 1800 675 888<\/p>\n

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said it is still responding to reports of the disease across the state.<\/p>\n

It has received 3,574 reports from the community since reporting began on June 19.<\/p>\n

There have been 492 tests and 43 positive events, with an event covering one or more animals.<\/p>\n

The figures are current as at September 21.<\/p>\n

\"\"A dead penguin was found on Elona Beach on Bruny Island on Tuesday<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity reports play a vital role in helping us track the spread of the disease and inform ongoing monitoring and response activities,\u201d an NRE spokesperson told Pulse.<\/p>\n

Not every reported bird or animal will be picked up for testing.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said those decisions depend on the species, the location, how many animals are affected and the level of risk.<\/p>\n

Where carcasses or samples are collected, staff follow strict rules and wear protective equipment.<\/p>\n

\"\"Authorities have received 3,574 bird flu reports from the Tasmanian community since June 19. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk to the general public remains low however people should not touch sick or dead birds and wildlife,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The department is asking anyone who spots sick or dead birds or wildlife to avoid contact, record what they see and report it to the hotline on 1800 675 888.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bird flu is continuing to spread across Tasmania, with more than 3,500 reports now made to authorities leading…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":901950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-901949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}